House of Representatives

From 2011 through 2014, the House of Representatives was conservatism’s only reliable line of defense against President Obama’s leftist encroachments. It’s quite possible that after 2016, conservatives will again need to look to the House to play this vital defensive role. To maintain control of the House, and to keep it in fighting trim, Republicans must run strong, principled conservatives — and not just for open and Democrat-held seats. We »

The White House tried to demonize 47 Senate Republicans as traitors because they wrote an open letter explaining the important role that the Senate plays in any binding treaty. It looks as though the “traitor” list is about to get much longer, as a bipartisan group of over 300 Congressmen are preparing a letter of their own, reminding President Obama of the role that Congress must play in any meaningful »

As expected, John Boehner will continue on as Speaker of the House. He received 216 votes. That’s less than a majority of the full House, but comfortably more than a majority of the votes cast. Like John, I’m not happy to see Boehner serve two more years as Speaker, given his handling of “Cromnibus.” But I wasn’t convinced that the candidates who ran against him were Speaker material. 24 Republicans »

Texas Congressman Louis Gohmert announced on Fox and Friends this morning that he will challenge John Boehner as Speaker of the House in the new Congress. I hope Gohmert wins, and urge conservatives in the House delegation to vote for him. I have generally defended Boehner in the past, but in my view his conduct with regard to the continuing resolution/omnibus spending bill that was passed during the lame duck »

As you undoubtedly know, liberal politicians and pundits have been hailing the claim that House Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana attended a meeting of a white supremacist group in 2002 as the biggest story since Bridgegate. Scalise himself said that he had no recollection of addressing such a meeting, but if he did it was an error in judgment for which he apologizes. Now it turns out that the »

In an attempt to salvage “Cromnibus,” President Obama sent his chief of staff to Capitol Hill to present House Democrats with the following argument: the budget deal under consideration today is better for liberals than what Democrats will be able to get next year, when Republicans control both chambers of Congress. From the Democrats’ point of view, the president’s message seems both indisputable and dispositive. Yet Democrats resoundingly rejected Obama’s »

It took nearly 60 Democrats to get the job done, but John Boehner and Barack Obama combined to slide the continuing resolution/omnibus spending bill through Congress. Still no explanation of why it is better to fund the fiscal year now, rather than in a month or two when Republicans control both chambers. Many conservatives are upset about the bill because it doesn’t attempt to de-fund amnesty. That isn’t my main »

It’s Keystone Kops in Washington, as John Boehner’s continuing resolution/omnibus spending bill nearly failed a procedural vote to bring it to the floor this morning. The tally was 214-212, and it took one Republican vote-switcher to avoid a colossal embarrassment for Speaker Boehner. The embarrassment is bad enough, as the vote on the rule is normally along party lines. All Democrats voted against the rule this morning, which I take »

When they finished counting the votes in Arizona’s Second Congressional District — I believe it’s the redistricted version of the district formerly represented by Gabrielle Giffords — Republican challenger Martha McSally led incumbent Democrat Ron Barber by 161 votes. The final count is subject to a mandatory recount that is underway. The recount is to conclude by December 16. Republicans held two seats in Louisiana’s runoff election yesterday. (In one »

When they finished counting the votes in Arizona’s Second Congressional District — if I have this right, it’s the redistricted version of the district formerly represented by Gabrielle Giffords — Republican challenger Martha McSally led incumbent Democrat Ron Barber by 161 votes. The final count is subject to a mandatory recount, but we have ground for hope that McSally’s lead will hold up. A tranche of votes discovered after the »

The day before the election, attention is focused, as it should be, on the battle for control of the Senate. But we shouldn’t neglect the House. No one thinks the Democrats will win back the House this year; it’s understood that, to the contrary, the GOP is likely to build on its current margin. But the more seats the GOP picks up, the greater the likelihood it will retain control »

I can’t get enough of Rep. Tom Marino and his close encounter of the harridan kind with Nancy Pelosi on the floor of the House this past Friday night. It’s the kind of bedtime story I need in the Age of Obama. Rep. Marino found his way onto FNC last night with Shannon Bream sitting in for Megyn Kelly on the Kelly File (video below). Rep. Marino, a nation turns »

Tucker Carlson caught up with Rep. Tom Marino this morning on FOX & Friends to ask about Marino’s close encounter of the harridan kind with Nancy Pelosi this past Friday night. The video is below. Rep. Marino is one cool cucumber. We who are about to sigh salute you! »

ABC’s John Parkinson reports this close encounter of the harridan kind (video below) in connection with the House wrapping up its debate on the immigration bill yesterday: In an unusual breach of decorum, even for the divided Congress, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi chased Rep. Tom Marino across the House floor, taking offense at comments by the Pennsylvania Republican during debate on the border funding bill Friday night. “We don’t »

The Cook Political Report has revised its district-by-district assessment of this fall’s House races. 21 races have a new rating and 17 of them favor Republicans. Of particular interest for us is the reassessment of the race in Minnesota’s Eighth District, in which John’s friend Stewart Mills is challenging incumbent Democrat Rick Nolan. Cook has switched this race from “leans Democrat” to “toss-up.” Stewart Mills will be one of our »

This morning Bill Kristol explained in a powerful note to the House GOP why it should kill the bill pending before the House to address our current border crisis. Now comes word that House leadership has pulled the bill rather than see it defeated as a result of the conservative revolt against it. Where do we go from here? I hope we will hear from our man on the bridge, »

The House Rules Committee took the first step toward initiating a lawsuit against President Obama over his faithless execution of the laws and abrogation of the separation of powers. The committee held a hearing on the House Resolution that would provide the House authority Four professors of constitutional law testified to the Rules Committee about the merits of the lawsuit, with two supporting and two opposed; the two in support »